More Than A Few Good Men

Contrary to traditional expectations of unbalanced sex ratios, places with more men
than women do not typically experience higher rates of family and social instability,
according to a University of Utah study. The study by anthropologists Ryan Schacht
and Karen Kramer, published August 24 in PLOS ONE, finds instead that surpluses of men are associated with higher levels of marriage,
relationship commitment and paternal involvement, a contrast to prevailing theories
that an abundance of single men lead to outcomes of crime, violence and broken homes.

“We’re trying to challenge notions of male abundance driving negative outcomes,” Schacht
says. “While unbalanced sex ratios are an important source of family instability and
social insecurity, it is increasingly being shown that much of our concern should
be reoriented to populations with too many women.”